


He Couldn't, So He Didn't

by rosesandribbons



Series: Welcome Home, Son [2]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Abusive May Parker (Spider-Man), Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bruises, Hurt/Comfort, Out of Character May Parker (Spider-Man), Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker Cries, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Poor Peter Parker, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Avengers, Protective Tony Stark, Starvation, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Touch-Starved
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:21:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27883696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosesandribbons/pseuds/rosesandribbons
Summary: It was safe to say that Peter was friends with the Avengers. That they all liked the kid and looked out for him. You could also say that Tony Stark was some sort of father figure to the boy. That there was more than just a mentor/mentee relationship.Peter loved looking forward to seeing Mr. Stark. He looked forward to helping the man build things in his lab and to chatting on the sofa with the team. He loved getting away from school. From the bratty teenagers, gross food, and loud noises. He loved getting away from his apartment. From the smell of alcohol, the constant bruises, and pills scattered over the floor. He loved getting away from his room. From that one dent in the wall that he was smashed into, the drops of liquor splattered on his desk, and the pillows that were starting to stain from his tears. He loved getting away from May.
Relationships: Peter Parker & Avengers Team, Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Tony Stark & Avengers Team
Series: Welcome Home, Son [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1922320
Comments: 8
Kudos: 394





	1. Day by Day

**Author's Note:**

> I had a ton more tags and warnings, but somehow they all got deleted and I wasn't willing to remember them all. Nothing horrible! Just bruises, cuts, etc...  
> Anyways, I'm kinda proud of this, kinda not, I've got mixed emotions. Chapter two is coming out tomorrow! I hope you enjoy!

It was safe to say that Peter was friends with the Avengers. That they all liked the kid and looked out for him. You could also say that Tony Stark was some sort of father figure to the boy. That there was more than just a mentor/mentee relationship. 

So week by week, Peter stopped by the compound for lab days and to hang around with the Avengers. After the accords had been dissolved, the team was reunited and slowly turned back into the family they once were. 

And Tony loved it.

He loved waking up every Friday and looking forward to seeing the boy that evening. He loved getting out of bed and knowing that he would be spending his night with the boy, working in the lab or watching movies when it got late. He loved it when the team hung around, teasing and joking with Peter and keeping him happy. 

Peter loved it too.

He loved looking forward to seeing Mr. Stark. He looked forward to helping the man build things in his lab and to chatting on the sofa with the team. He loved getting away from school. From the bratty teenagers, gross food, and loud noises. He loved getting away from his apartment. From the smell of alcohol, the constant bruises, and pills scattered over the floor. He loved getting away from his room. From that one dent in the wall that he was smashed into, the drops of liquor splattered on his desk, and the pillows that were starting to stain from his tears. He loved getting away from May.

All Peter could do was look forward to the compound.

Of course he couldn’t tell Mr. Stark. He wouldn’t want to be taken away from the one person he looked up to and shoved into some random foster home. He didn’t want to say goodbye to the team that he had grown to love and care for. He just couldn’t say goodbye. So he didn’t say anything at all.

The alcohol had started two months ago. First when May had just had a bad week at work so she pulled out an old bottle of wine. But then she started to have bad weeks all the time, which soon turned into bad days. More and more bottles of alcohol entered the house, causing May’s temper to flare.

She hadn’t hit him until three weeks after her first drink. And even then it hadn’t been horrible. Sure it had stunned Peter to silence and made him cry himself to sleep that night, but it was nothing compared to recently. May had found an obsession with breaking glass, specifically on Peter. And of course he didn’t say anything. He couldn’t. So he didn’t.

He let it happen. He let himself suffer in silence. Even Ned didn’t know. His friend had asked about it once noticing Peter’s sudden change in demeanor, but had chalked it up to stress with patrol and school.

000

Tony hadn’t noticed any problems with Peter. At least not many. The only time he had been concerned was when Peter had shown up to the compound with a black eye after school. That day the boy had swung to the compound and had excused it as a mugging on the way over.

Tony didn’t push. Why should he? He knew Peter wouldn’t ignore something like that if he could help it. So they started working and the conversation was dropped.

Peter had almost wished Tony had pushed. That he wouldn’t let the subject drop until he got the truth. But the man didn’t. And Peter couldn’t say anything about it. So he didn’t.

It had been three weeks since Peter showed up at the compound with a black eye, and the boy kept on coming back with different injuries on his face or arms. He kept on saying that it was just from patrol, and since Happy was still on vacation and Peter had been swinging to the tower after school, there wasn’t much Tony suspected.

Today Peter had showed up looking fine, and the two had gotten right to work in the lab without much talking. They made small talk about what the other person did that week and what Peter had been doing at school. After spending several hours working on upgrades for his suit and web shooters, Peter and Tony headed to the common room for dinner where they would meet the other Avengers.

When they walked into the room, everyone was already piled around the table besides Steve and Bucky, who were standing over the stove in the kitchen. Tony led Peter to the table with an arm wrapped around the boy's shoulder, and they both took their seats.

Peter took a seat by Clint while Tony moved across the table to sit by Rhodey, leaving two empty chairs. About five minutes later, Bucky was helping Steve carry dinner to the table, and soon everyone was filling their plates and talking. Peter gave himself a light helping, knowing that if he took too much May would get mad. Not that she would be able to find out. The boy normally ate as much food as Steve, sometimes even more, but today he only ate about half of what the super soldier had.

One of the empty seats had been by Peter, so Steve had filled it once the food was on the table. When Peter had cleared his plate and didn’t go for seconds, Steve raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you want more food Peter? There’s plenty to go around.”

Peter paled a little and stared down at his plate. “No thanks,” he said quietly.

Tony had seemed to notice Peter’s lack of hunger and piped in on the conversation. “You feeling alright, Pete?” He asked with concern.

Peter looked up to see that now everyone's eyes had turned to him. Realizing that they were waiting for a response, he thought of something as fast as he could. “Yeah I feel fine. Me and May had a big breakfast this morning and I ate a lot at school,” he lied. When no one answered the boy said the only other thing he thought of. “Plus I have to save room for popcorn.”

A few of the others at the table huffed a laugh at the boy while Clint started to talk. “Speaking of, I’m picking the movie tonight. Tony picked last week and I am not letting him turn on another one of his stupid science movies.”

Tony’s jaw dropped in mock offense and he was quick to defend himself, changing the subject from Peter.

Once the credits rolled in on the TV screen, the members of the living room stood up and started to stretch out, getting prepared to call it a night. Peter had dozed off on Tony’s shoulder and the man was now shaking him awake so Happy could take him home.

“Peteeeerrrr, time to get up,” he said. “Happy’s ready to bring you home, c’mon bud.”

Peter groaned and stretched his legs with closed eyes while burying himself deeper into Tony’s side. “Five more min’s,” the boy complained.

Tony smiled at the boy’s innocence while shaking him again. “No, let’s get going now or you’re going to have to deal with a cranky Happy. C’mon Pete, aren’t you excited to go home and see May?”

Peter shook his head and hid in Tony’s side, not realizing what he was saying with his brain half asleep. “May’s mean,” he complained.

Tony thought it was odd for Peter to say something like that even if it was a joke, because that’s just not who Peter is. But everyone else just assumed that Peter was saying that because he didn’t want to get up. Tony started poking the teen in the side in hopes of annoying him awake. It mainly worked, as Peter finally opened his eyes and started swatting Tony’s hand away, but then buried himself right back into Tony’s side. “No, kiddo. Up, up, up.” Tony said as he shoved the boy off of him and to his feet. 

Peter protested but wiped his eyes and stretched out so he could wake himself up enough to make it to the car. “You guys are bullies, can’t you just let me sleep,” he mumbled under his breath as grabbed his backpack and threw it over his shoulder.

Tony heard the boy and smiled while ruffling his hair, much to Peter’s dismay. “We’re just so mean to you, aren’t we Pete?” Peter nodded and then pulled Tony into a hug, much to everyone's surprise, but the boy acted like it was the most normal thing.

“Bye,” Peter said simply and everyone in the room smiled at the kid’s adorableness and sudden clinginess. 

A chorus of goodbyes rang across the room as Peter headed for the lobby of the compound.

000

After the first time May had hurt Peter badly, she had threatened him. Told him that if he was going to go tattle on her to the Avengers, she would be taken away and so would he.

“They’ll send you away to some foster home hours from here and you’ll never get to see your precious Iron Man again.” Those had been her exact words. And of course he believed her. Why would Tony Stark take in some random kid from Queens that would be nothing but a burden to him? Peter had started to believe that Tony cared about him more than just a mentee. But day after day, as May drilled those horrible things into his head, he stopped believing it. He thought that if he asked someone for help, he’d be sent away. He couldn’t say anything if he didn’t want to be taken away. So he didn’t say anything at all.

Back to the present, two months living with an alcoholic aunt, Peter swung home from Patrol Thursday night. He hadn’t eaten yet today besides the piece of toast that he had earlier for breakfast, not nearly enough to feed his metabolism. May had limited his food in the house to one meal a day, saying that if he wasn’t grateful for the roof over his head he would have to learn to appreciate it. That morning Peter had woken up late for school, causing him to only have time to grab a piece of toast before he was out the door. She also decreased his lunch money, only giving him half of what he needed so he could only buy lunch every other day.

So, as the vigilante climbed through his window, his stomach was growling louder than ever. He quickly stripped from his suit and pulled on some sweats before running to the kitchen. He still had five minutes before May’s shift was over, and another fifteen before she got home. He quickly grabbed a box of cereal and poured a massive bowl. He shoved it back in the cupboard and turned to grab milk from the fridge to see May standing in the hallway.

He froze in terror as she stared him down and glanced at the bowl behind him. “May…”


	2. A Discovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ned immediately dropped the subject, realizing Peter didn’t want to talk about it. “Hey, do you want to come over tonight? We still haven’t finished the new lego set I got. Maybe you could even spend the night since it’s Friday.”
> 
> Peter’s heart dropped at that, realizing that Friday meant compound day. Meaning that he would have to hide his injuries from the team. Again.
> 
> “I can’t tonight. I’m going to the compound."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short story, but one of my favorites that I wrote. Prompts for Irondad and Spiderson or Penny Parker are welcome!

Peter walked to school that day with a slight limp to his step. There was a large gash on his forehead that he was mainly able to cover with his hair, and everything else was covered with his clothes.

May had given him her worst beating yet last night. Peter had spent almost an hour marking up wounds and trying to stop different cuts from bleeding on his back and shoulders. Normally those small cuts would have healed overnight, but with the small amount of food Peter was getting every day, his healing had slowed to almost nothing.

When Peter finally walked through the doors of Midtown, his head was pounding so badly from walking on his leg he thought he might pass out. May had kicked him repeatedly on his upper thigh after slamming a bottle of vodka into his back, causing a nasty purple bruise to take over. 

Peter stopped by his locker to pick up his homework and headed to class without seeing Ned. He walked through the door of first period just as the bell rang and saw Ned already sitting in his usual spot. Peter almost fell into his chair next to his best friend, wincing slightly at the pain that shot through his leg.

“Dude, what happened? You look like a mess,” His friend asked.

“I’m fine, Ned,” Peter said.

“There is no way you’re fine. You practically limped in here and were ten minutes later than usual. Aren’t you supposed to have super healing or something? Did something happen on-”

“Ned, I said I’m fine!” Peter snapped.

Ned immediately dropped the subject, realizing Peter didn’t want to talk about it. “Hey, do you want to come over tonight? We still haven’t finished the new lego set I got. Maybe you could even spend the night since it’s Friday.”

Peter’s heart dropped at that, realizing that Friday meant compound day. Meaning that he would have to hide his injuries from the team. Again.

“I can’t tonight. I’m going to the compound.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Well then maybe tomorrow? Or are you busy?”

Peter thought about denying it and spending the day on patrol as a break for himself, but decided that it might be good for him to spend some time with his best friend. “Yeah. Tomorrow should work.”

Ned gave him a smile before turning to the front of the class.

000

By last period, the pain in Peter’s leg had gone down to where he could walk without a limp, but it was still enough for him to wince if he stepped on it too harshly. His back wasn’t bugging him too much as long as nothing touched it, and the cut on his forehead had started healing throughout the day.

‘At least that’s something.’ Peter thought.

His stomach growled loudly as the final bell rang and he got a text from Happy that the man was waiting out front. Peter still hadn’t had enough money to pay for lunch, so he spent the period doing homework and snacking on an apple MJ lent him.

He made his way out the front doors of the school and down the steps to where the sleek black car was waiting for him. Peter carefully sat down in the back, mindful of his injuries with a small, “Hey, Happy.”

The man grunted but didn’t say anything else, letting Peter get lost in thought.

The cut on my head is mainly healed, so they shouldn’t be able to see anything. As long as I am careful with my leg and I don’t touch my back, I should be fine. But what if something happens? What if one of them notices the cut on my head? Natasha is oddly observant. She might notice it right away. Or she just might notice me not touching my back. Oh god, there is no way I can get past the Avengers with this. They’re going to find out and then I’m going to be sent away and then-

“You alright back there Kid?” Happy asked, breaking Peter from his train of thought.

“Yeah… I’m all good back here Hap.” Hap. That’s a new one.

The man in the front raised his eyebrow but didn’t comment on Peter’s choice of words. “You sure, Kid? You’re not like secretly dying back there or anything, right? You would have normally talked my ear off by now.”

Peter’s pulse started to quicken. He’s on to me, he’s on to me, he’s on to me. Be cool, be cool, be cool- “Yeah I’m not dying. Just had a long week I guess.” Peter watched as Happy looked at him in the mirror for a few more seconds before humming and looking back to the road.

They arrived at the compound an hour later, and Peter got out of the car as quickly as possible without disturbing any of his injuries. Happy had his phone pulled out and didn’t get out of the car, so Peter hurried inside without saying another word.

000

Tony had just got a text from Happy saying the kid was here but something odd was up. With no further explanation, Tony walked to the lobby of the compound to see Peter already halfway through it and walking towards Tony with his head down. The man stopped in his tracks to wait for Peter to catch up to him, and when he did Tony wrapped an arm around the boy.

Peter jolted in surprise and made a small gasping sound, which Tony all took as a scare from being jolted out of his thoughts. The boy quickly backed away from Tony with wide eyes, making Tony raise his hands in mock surrender.

“Just me, kid. I’m not planning on kidnapping you,” Tony joked.

Peter gave a small smile and let out a relieved sigh. “Oh, hey, Mr. Stark,” he said quietly.

Tony could immediately tell something was wrong. The way Peter wouldn’t meet his eyes, the quiet voice, and the smile that wasn’t quite reaching his eyes. 

‘Bad day.’ Tony thought.

“Hey yourself,” the man replied. “Didn’t mean to scare ya, kiddo. I just came down here to bring you to the commons rather than the lab. Pepper’s kept me down there all day with stuff for SI and I’m feeling kinda sick of it, believe it or not.”

Tony didn’t miss the relief that washed over Peter’s face, letting the man know he was doing the right thing. “I was thinking we just order some takeout and can have a movie night, maybe some of the team can join us too.”

Tony laughed when Peter’s stomach rumbled at the mention of food. “Can I take that as a yes?”

Peter smiiled and nodded, crossing his arms over his stomach in embarrassment. Tony threw his arm around Peter’s shoulder again and didn’t miss the wince from the boy, but he was also putting some of his weight on Tony and was walking at a slower pace than normal, so Tony just figured that Peter was tired.

By the time they made it to the common room, Peter was basically asleep on Tony’s shoulder. Bucky, Nat, Steve, and Sam were all sitting on the couches eating snacks as the pair walked in. Their conversation dropped when they caught sight of Peter, and all of their eyebrows knitted in confusion. Before anyone got the chance to say anything, Tony put a finger to his lips saying, ‘Not now’, and the others seemed to understand. 

Tony pulled his phone out before sitting on the couch with Peter, who sunk deeper into Tony’s side. The man ordered their usual takeout order before setting his phone down and turning to Peter. 

“You wanna take a nap before the food gets here, bud?” Tony asked softly.

Tony didn’t even get a response because the boy was already passed out on his shoulder.

“What’s going on?” Steve asked.

Tony looked up from Peter to give everyone a serious look. “I don’t know. He was pretty out of it when I met him in the lobby and I figured he could use a break. Basically fell asleep on me.”

“FRIDAY, scan Peter for anything abnormal,” Natasha said without looking up from the boy.

Everyone looked to Natasha in confusion but didn’t say anything as they waited for the AI’s response. “Mr. Parker appears to be at phase two of starvation. He also seems slightly sleep deprived, but has slept at least six hours in the past twenty-four. I detect multiple cuts on his back, possibly from glass or metal. There appears to be an almost completely healed cut on his forehead, as well as a large amount of bruising covering his right thigh.”

No one had a response for FRIDAY, and they all sat in stunned silence for a few minutes. Eventually Tony turned Peter to get him a bit more off of his back and everyone silently agreed to wait for Peter to wake up to ask questions.

The food arrived 15 minutes later, just after the start of Peter’s favorite Star Wars movie, and Tony carefully shook the boy awake. “You hungry, Pete? Food’s here.” That caused Peter to sit up and grab a carton of food before snuggling back into Tony’s side and facing the screen. 

Peter went through three more cartons of food before Tony decided to talk to the boy. “How’s patrol been going, Pete?” He asked softly.

Peter tensed a little next to him before saying, “It’s been fine. Nothing too exciting.”

“Yeah? You been getting much sleep?” 

“...Not as much as normal, I’ve got lots of homework. I’ve slept every night though,” Peter said without looking up from his food.

Tony hummed and leaned forward to set his own food on the coffee table. “You know you can take a break from patrol once and awhile.”

“Yeah I know… I skipped last night to work on homework. And I’ve got at least six hours of sleep every night,” Peter lied.

“It’s not just sleep, bud. You’ve been getting a lot more injuries out there lately. Just take some time for yourself. Queens can defend themselves for a few days,” Tony reminded the boy.

“I haven’t been trying, there’s just a lot of stress with school lately and patrol helps calm me down,” Peter said, starting to get defensive.

“Hey, I know kiddo. I just don’t want to find you half dead in my lobby again,” Tony joked.

Peter smiled and went back to his food, thinking he got himself out of the woods.

“What were you doing in the lobby in the first place, Tony?” Steve asked. “Doesn’t Peter know his way around here by now?”

“Yeah, Happy got back from vacation yesterday so he drove Pete here for the first time in a few weeks. I was just making sure he didn’t forget,” Tony said and poked the boy in the side, causing Peter to giggle nervously and swat his hand.

Natasha sat up at Tony’s words with some sort of masked concern on her face. “Don’t you have a healing factor, Peter?” She asked.

“Uh, yeah?” Peter said as more of a question than a statement, even though his heartbeat was starting to pick up again.

“Then why do you have so many cuts and bruises on you? If Happy drove you here, those would have been from last night at the earliest. Shouldn’t they be healed by now?”

The smile fell from Tony’s face as he understood what Natasha was talking about. “Have you been eating, Peter? Is May having trouble with money?”

“What? No! We’re doing fine with money,” Peter said, wanting to get May out of the conversation immediately. 

“Then why aren’t you healing?” Tony questioned.

“And didn’t you say you didn’t patrol last night?” Sam spoke up.

Everyone's eyes widened at that and left Peter speechless. After a few moments of stunned silence Tony sat up straight and turned so he was looking directly at Peter.

“Peter, who did this to you?” Tony asked.

Peter looked at his father figure and didn’t know what to say. He opened his mouth and shut it again, and his eyes started to fill with tears.

“Did… did May?” Tony had to force the words out of his mouth.

And he almost threw up when Peter nodded his head.

‘After all this time. The lack of hunger and energy, and how he was so clingy all of a sudden. He was being abused and I’ve been completely oblivious.’ Tony scolded himself.

He quickly pulled the boy into a hug at the others shocked gasps, and Peter immediately started sobbing into Tony’s chest. “It’s okay. I’ve got you, buddy. I’ve got you,” Tony cooed while the boy clutched him tighter and tried to stop himself from crying. The others had stood and left the room as Tony shot them a look saying, ‘Don’t do anything yet’. They all looked as pissed as he felt, but all Tony could do was rub the boy’s back and whisper sweet nothings into his ear until Peter got his breathing under control.

The two sat there for about fifteen minutes, and Tony had to pry Peter off of him so he could look the boy in the eye. “Pete, do you want to stay with May?” The man asked, even though he wouldn’t let that happen.

“Mr. Stark, if May gets taken away from me then I won’t have any family left and I’ll have to go into foster care, and then I won’t get to be Spider-Man and I won’t be able to see you guys anymore and I’ll be-”

“Hey, Peter,” Tony cut him off. “I understand that. What I’m asking is if you still want to live with May.”

The boy bit on his bottom lip as his eyes heated up again, and quickly shook his head as a tear rolled down his cheek. Tony pulled him back into a hug as he tried to calm the boy down again.

“That’s good, buddy. I don’t want you staying there either. I promise I’m not gonna let anyone take you, okay? You can stay here with me and the team, and you’ll still be able to be Spidey and go to your same school, okay? The whole package.” The man took a shot, and planted a kiss on the boy’s temple, causing Peter to melt against Tony.

The boy nodded against Tony as he let his eyes drift shut, feeling safe and loved for the first time in months.

000

By the next morning, Peter had his own room set up down the hall from Tony’s. After the boy had fallen asleep the night before, he was carried to Tony’s bed by the man himself. The rest of the team was informed of the situation and that they were cancelling movie night tonight.

The five that had made the discovery took a drive down to Queens and discreetly made their way up to the Parker’s apartment. May had still been on her shift, so Peter’s things were packed into boxes and brought to their car.

As Natasha and Bucky swept through the bathroom in the apartment to make sure they got everything of Peter’s, Steve and Sam carried the last of Peter’s things downstairs. Once the two ex-assassins were happy with everything, they followed the two men down to the car. Tony only had to wait ten minutes before May showed up to find the billionaire eating a bag of doritos on her couch.

He only waited another five minutes for a police car to show up and take May away. They weren’t out of the woods yet, there would be future things such as a trial to attend and papers for Tony to sign, but for tonight, Tony was going to go home and be there for his kid.


End file.
